Tuesday, May 31, 2005

The evening started out with a group invite over Ventrillo with a few guys in the guild, Volatile. I have friends within the guild and am hoping to become part of them. Of course I am up for PvP; anytime.

We headed out to Morgan's Vigil in the Burning Steppes, an Alliance hot spot with no guards and a flight master. Unfortunately, I missed the major action. By the time I got there, the Horde had already been overrun by about fifteen alliance. We were only four strong so we stuck out and about trying to get what we could. What we ended up with was a bunch of Alliance steam rolling us for thirty minutes. We managed to get about eight kills in.

Anyways, we lost two people and it was down to just my shaman and a warlock. We started by chasing down some solo runners here and there. Then we headed back to Morgan's Vigil. Luck was on our side and there was only three Alliance left; two hunters and a priest. A tough two on three fight, but I had confidence we could get it done.

The priest was first up and he proved little more than a spam healer. He went down. The warlock had feared one hunter off, but the second was laying waste to the warlock. A few heals and the warlock started unleashing some massive damage. I will never doubt a warlock's damage potential again. Two critical hits in a row and the first hunter went down. The second hunter was a pushover at this point. We finished at about 25% health each. A good fight and good contribution points for us.

Dinner called and I was gone.

This is why WoW still holds me. For all the times I am ready to smash my keyboard, there is an equally good number of times that I feel like I've just conquered the world. With a slim hope that PvP rewards will be worth the time I am spending, I will stick with WoW. WoW PvP is not perfect, but it sure can be fun when it wants to be.

The Tarren Mill and Southshore areas of World of Warcraft are prone to a slight problem. They are contested areas where PvP is open between the Alliance and Horde on PvP servers and both towns are practically built right on top of each other. Couple this with the fact that a lot of servers are severely imbalanced in favor of the Alliance, and Tarren Mill becomes a death trap for Horde players.

Tonight, I chose to fly into Tarren Mill to get some PvP out of my system. I have been doing far too many Dire Maul, UBRS, LBRS, and other dungeon runs lately and gaining little to no items for my ultimate use. However, I have gained an unsettled patience for the dumbest of people. After all, one person going AFK in UBRS at the wrong time wastes three hours of everyone's time, not just the idiots.

Anyways, back to the activity at hand:

At first the fight was going well for the Horde. We were pushing the Alliance back and forth between the two towns. Kills were to be found everywhere, but as the night dwindled down our town of Tarren Mill fell victim to an Alliance campfest.

I write this as I sit dead, in the graveyard, unable to resurrect and zip back home to Ogrimmar or anywhere else for that matter. There is literally twenty stinky Alliance standing in the graveyard.

I do not wish to rant, but I remember why I was staying away from Tarren Mill in the first place. I like to actually play when I have the spare time, not sit around being farmed like some poor murloc.

Define what you, as a gamer, like to see in a game. MMOs are quickly becoming like TV stations; something for everyone. With more and more choices, you have a choice in what type of game-play experience you will receive.

For me, I am looking at a game's class (or skill) balance in PvE and PvP, the learning curve, immersion factor, continuity among the world, PvP system, and most of all fun factor. It is best to start a review looking for the positives, rather than focusing on the negative.

Step 2

Cover the basics. Graphics, technical performance, and customer support. These are areas I prefer to stay away from lengthy debates on. Everyone has their tastes. I'm more worried about whether the graphics, technical aspects, or customer support detract from the overall experience of playing the game.

Step 3

List the negative, but keep ranting to a minimum. Provide a reason why you dislike it, offer a solution if you have one, and move on. A balanced review will encompass the good, bad, and ugly.

Step 4

Tell us why you will or will not be playing the game for years to come.

Step 5

End on a good note. Each and every MMO has something unique that is attracting players; some game's have more than others. Find what that is and highlight it. Don't try to run the game into the ground, otherwise you are writing the review for the wrong reasons. Try to give the reader some hope that the game will be a wise investment of their time, or give them solid reasons why it would not.

So, my blogging begins, but I do not want to set off without a list of what I wish to accomplish.

First up will be my current games, World of Warcraft and Guild wars. Both deserving of my two cents. Whether appreciated or not by the general gaming public, I will speak my mind on both.

My goal is to develop a base as to where, how, and what to rate MMORPGs on. Reaching out from there, I will push my own idea's on what I would like to see. We are all dreamers and I see nothing wrong with sharing my dream of gaming.

Without further hesitation:

1. WoW Review2. Guild Wars Review3. Comment on WoW's PvP system.4. Comment on Guild Wars PvP balance.5. Comment on casual gaming and being a casual gamer.6. See what else there is in the MMO news these days.

Reflection: Looking back on this post, I wanted to reflect on what I actually did achieve on this list. I started, but never finished a multi-part World of Warcraft game review. MMORPGs are notoriously hard to review, which I found out the hard way. My Guild Wars review met a similar fate.

I have made several posts in regard to WoW's PvP system. And I am glad to report that many suggestions and discussions I had early on were eventually implemented into WoW. Cross server battlegrounds, a complete reworking of the honor system, and PvP Arenas were all discussed here well ahead of their implementations.

I also analyzed Guild Wars PvP, but never fully realized it's potential. I grew away from competitive Guild Wars after the guild I joined fell apart early on.

Finally, I have definitely kept my finger on the pulse of MMORPG news everywhere. I even managed to create some of my own with links from websites such as Slashdot and Digg.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

The date: 29 May, 2005. The time: 20:24 or 8:24 PM EST for those of you in the civilian world.

This blog has officially started. It has been a process of thought pulling at my mind for a while. I play these games we call MMORPGs, but I don't even know if "play" is the correct word to describe it anymore. I live and breath these games. They are more than an escape from my mediocre life. Fun is no longer the driving factor. Social interaction with like minded nerds and geeks; people whom live through their in game characters as though it was version 2.0 of themselves.

I don't want to hear these gamers speak in foreign Orcish or Elvish tongues. I want them to speak English and call me newb, l33t, or dude. I want role playing that is a real person, embodying a real in-game character. I don't want to know how much you can pretend. I want to see who, what, and how you can do things in game with the class, race, or skills you have chosen in our game of choice.

Ah, the game of choice! Room for debate among the flooded market of MMORPGs and the denizens that inhabit them. From baseless flame fests on the far reaches of the most bizarre gaming message boards; to developer's beloved Customer Feedback Forms. Well known to players that have ever hit cancel on a B-rate MMORPG subscription.

That is what brings us here. The game of choice, or should I say games of choice! After all, it is entirely possible to enjoy the splendor of more than a single MMO at a time. While you risk the chance of losing that significant other, the admiration of your pet, and standing in your real life social circle, you obtain the chance to be the darling of your online world of choice.

Whether its a heroic conquest, a diabolic scheme, or simply a comical battle cry; overnight stardom is possible!

So friends, let us journey down this road. Unafraid of the naysayers! Fearful of the sun that will burn our skin! And most of all, damn proud of what we choose to do with our free time. We are the many, the proud, the MMO gamer!